Artificial Intelligence Capabilities and Business Model Transformation in Manufacturing Smes: An Exploratory Study

Abstract

This study examines the relationships between artificial intelligence capabilities, organisational culture, scalability, resilience, and business model transformation in manufacturing SMEs participating in the automotive cluster of Nuevo León, Mexico. A quantitative, cross-sectional, and exploratory design was employed using a convenience sample of 30 firms. Data were obtained from one managerial informant per company, drawn from operations, production, or quality functions because of their broad knowledge of organisational and manufacturing processes. The proposed relationships were assessed through multiple linear regression using heteroscedasticity-consistent HC3 standard errors, complemented by bias-corrected and accelerated (BCa) 95% bootstrap confidence intervals based on 10,000 resamples and leave-one-out cross-validation. The model explained 71.3% of the variance in business model transformation. Resilience showed the strongest positive association, followed closely by artificial intelligence capabilities and then scalability, providing support for three of the four hypotheses. Organisational culture was positively correlated with business model transformation but did not retain a statistically robust independent association when the remaining predictors were considered simultaneously. The findings suggest that AI-related business model transformation in SMEs is associated not only with technological capability but also with complementary organisational factors that support adaptation and scalability. The study provides exploratory evidence from an internationally integrated manufacturing context and offers practical implications for SME managers seeking to translate AI adoption into meaningful business model transformation.